


TMB: If Only

by ASmallVoice



Series: The Medium Between [4]
Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-13
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:01:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24842740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ASmallVoice/pseuds/ASmallVoice
Summary: Deleted Scenes and What Ifs from The Medium Between series. Please read The Medium Between first.Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice, or any DC Universe characters. My OCs are mine.
Series: The Medium Between [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/576772
Kudos: 9





	1. A Different Loss

**Author's Note:**

> The Medium Between If Only. Like noted in the description, this story will be filled with deleted scenes and what ifs from my main story _The Medium Between._ Please read that story first. There will also, eventually, be scenes deleted from its sequel. The scenes will not necessarily go in order, with the exception of multi-parters. I plan to update this whenever I'm fighting writer's block. A warning, some of the scenes may not be good, as they were deleted for a reason, but I hope you find them interesting nonetheless. For anyone interested, I'll note the story behind each scene, including why it didn't end up in the main story, at the end of each chapter and a brief, one sentence question the scene answers at the beginning.

**1: What if Dick had lost the bet earlier and made it home?**

**Starts with the prologue with slight changes.**

It was a stupid bet. They both knew it when they made it, but that had not stopped them.

Not long after a particularly brutal kidnapping, Dick was in recovery at Wayne Manor when Wally came to visit. Proving that he was perfectly capable of being asterous even when incredibly injured, Dick stole Wally's googles and painted little robins in permanent ink on the straps. Dick wanted to keep them, but Wally wanted them back. It had been Wally who proposed the bet, partly out of jest and partly out of worry for his friend's current condition.

"Fine. You can keep them if you don't get kidnapped for three months starting now."

Dick was silent for a second. "In civvies or in costume?"

"Either."

Dick pondered it for a minute during which Wally disappeared to grab some cookies, returned, and ate all said cookies except for two, which he gave to Dick. On the one hand, whether or not he got kidnapped and, thus, the bet was entirely out of his control. On the other hand, it was a relatively simple bet.

"Deal," Dick said. "But, if the majority of the team is captured as well, it doesn't count. Also, no friendly kidnappings count."

"Friendly kidnappings?" Wally asked.

"Like if you or Roy or someone kidnapped me to go somewhere fun like Six Flags, or to spend time with me. That doesn't count," Dick paused for a second, considering any other conditions to set or loopholes to close. Finding none, he questioned, "What do you want if you win?"

"The new Xbox 720!" Wally said, "And my googles back."

"That's fair. A pair of googles for an Xbox. That totally makes sense."

"Those are high tech googles, and your dad's a billionaire. An Xbox is nothing." Wally crossed his arms.

"He's not my dad," Dick replied automatically.

"Deal or no deal?"

Dick huffed, "Deal. I don't get kidnapped for three months, 90 days, starting now, excluding friendly kidnappings and most of the team kidnappings, and I keep the googles. If I do get kidnapped, you get an Xbox 720 and your googles back."

They shook on it.

A stupid bet, one that they both blatantly hoped Dick would win.

A stupid bet, one that had a definite conclusion, which pushed the limits of that outcome to the end.

A stupid bet. It really sucked that he had lost.

~~~

Robin marched straight into the living room of Mount Justice as the Zeta Tubes chirped out his identification. A bruise marked the right side of his face around his eye, and his left hand was wrapped firmly and held in a sling. Reaching his destination, he flung the red googles at the snoozing Kid Flash, jerking the teen from his sleep.

"Here," Robin proclaimed.

"Wha-?" KF started.

"Your Xbox is in the mail." Robin started towards the archway to go to the guest rooms or maybe the kitchen. He hadn't decided yet.

"Wait, what? What happened?!"

"What do you think?" He said spinning back to face his confused best friend. "You won."

"I won? But I wasn't supposed to win!"

"Win what?" Superboy asked. "How'd you get so injured?"

"A bet." Robin replied, shifting slightly off the ankle he really wasn't supposed to be walking on, after escaping from Alfred. "And, that was related to the bet."

"Come on." Kid Flash said, jumping to his feet. He took Robin's uninjured arm and started leading him to the counseling room, also known as the room free of bugs. "You need to tell me what happened." Superboy watched as they left, but decided it was none of his business, and, if it was, he'd hear about it later.

"So, what happened?" Kid Flash prompted, once they were in the secure room.

"It's really stupid." Robin replied, reaching to take off his sunglasses to speak as Dick.

"Nonsense." Kid Flash replied. "Tell me."

"I got mugged."

"You got mugged?" Disbelief colored his tone.

"Yeah, you know I can't really defend myself too well in my other identity, and they were these three big guys, looked like they were pumped with venom. Normally, I'd have no problem, but, mugged."

"Mugged doesn't mean you lost the bet though. The bet was kidnapped."

"Yeah, well, they looked in my wallet and saw my ID." KF gave a gasp of understanding. "They weren't even really prepared to kidnap someone. They hit me on the head hard, and while my head was spinning, they had two guys hold me while the third tied me up using my normal belt and tie…. I'm going to talk to Bruce about making those both shock-proof. Seriously embarrassing. I'm glad they didn't think to take away anything trackable. Batman tracked me down by cell phone signal when I didn't come home on time. They hadn't even gotten me secure or called about a ransom. Batman was even able to make it look like he ran across them on patrol and made it sound believable.

"And they twisted my wrist! Meanies!"

"Did you just call them 'Meanies'?"

"Yes."

"Ok then. Well, at least you're okay. Do you want to start over?"

"What? So you can win something else?"

"More like so you can win this time. I want you to win, Dickie Bird."

Dick huffed. "Fine. Restart, but only because I like you, Wally."

"I would hope you'd like me. Best friends for life, dude."

**Story behind this chapter: I got the idea while reading through some other Robin-whump fics and rereading _The Medium Between_. At first, I considered weaving it into the main story as Wally's dream, but it didn't come out well. I'm including that part below. It includes a lot of Wally's guilt behind making the bet in the first place, especially since Dick didn't come home. Obviously, the bet had nothing to do with the kidnapping, if anything, it helped avoid other kidnappings by making Dick more cautious, but knowing one thing in your mind and believing it are two entirely different things. Here's the part that makes it a dream.**

Dick's face took on a sad aura, "Yeah, too bad I lost. Are you even looking?"

"What are you talking about, dude? You're right here. Safe and sound."

"I wish. How long have I been missing? Really?"

"You're not missing! You're right here!"

"But I am missing, Wally. I might even be dead."

Wally poked him in the arm, and then pulled him into a hug. "Please, Dick, don't talk like that. You're here."

"Where's here? If you know where I am, why haven't you come for me?"

"We're at the Mountain! We're here."

"I'm scared, Wally."

"Don't be. You're safe."

"Wally."

"You're safe. You're here with me. We're going to go get Alfred to make cookies."

"Wally."

"We'll play video games."

"Wally, wake up." Wally looked at his friend, tears streaming down his face, as the boy began to fade. "WALLY."

Wally came to with a gasp, shooting up, and colliding with Artemis. "Wha-? 'mis?"

"You were having a bad dream, Wally. It was just a dream."

"But, Dick, he was there, and safe, and," he burst into tears and leaned into his girlfriend. She returned the hug, rubbing his back to calm him down.


	2. The Dingbats

**2\. Review from thebibliophileshavethephonebox, "I forgot which Dingbat was doing the video, but he was creepy. Like, REALLY creepy."**

"How do we know those two douches won't come after us for more money? They do know who we took. Is that really enough money to sate them?"

"They won't come after us because they work for the same company we do. They're probably off to snatch another kid or two and they get the same amount for each. They know if they come after us for a little extra on this job, they'll lose income for other jobs. We have nothing to worry about."

"Listen to Missy, John; she knows what she's saying." Alexandro said, focusing his attention on the road. Missy gave John a victorious smirk. "Missy, can you lead me out of the city and to the transfer point?"

"Yeah. You'll want to take a right onto the highway and follow it for a while. We get off on exit 13."

"Why so soon?" John asked, rechecking his work on the firmly bound kid hidden under a blanket on the floor of the back seat for the fifth time. Exit 13 was only about a half hour or so away from the city with the evening traffic. At the rate they were going, they might get there in less time, maybe a bit more because they weren't out of the city yet.

"Aww. Look at the nervous newbie." Alexandro teased. Missy rolled her eyes, and answered his question.

"We need to secure the kid further before he wakes, and shake off any cops. We only have until the girl wakes up and calls for help to switch vehicles without pursuit."

"How long is that? And I thought I did a pretty good job with the restraints. He shouldn't be able to get out of them."

"Maybe so, but we won't be able to stop anywhere for food or gas with him in the backseat. He's too well known. Someone glimpses in or he manages to sit up, and pish posh police after us before we get a good distance. Not to mention seat belt laws."

"Seat belt laws? Seriously?"

"Anyhow, the sedative _should_ last another hour for both of them. That'll give us time to get out of the city and away from cameras. There's an isolated parking lot five minutes from the highway where we can make the switch easily. No cameras between the lot and the highway or on the highway. I didn't want to give him too much sedative initially, before I could observe his body type. I'll give him another, stronger one when we switch vehicles. Then, we'll have to be conservative with our sedatives. Just use them when he's super fussy. It's better not to let him know just how far we've driven to the first location while he can still find a way to communicate with Daddy."

"You've clearly thought this out, Missy." John noted. Alexandro gave a grunt of agreement.

"That reminds me, when we get to the location, I'm going to need you to remove all his clothes except his boxers, then tie him back up. We don't want anything that can be traced. We're meeting another grunt there. He'll hold onto the things and then add the video tape when we're done with it, and send it to Daddy. Did you find all the trackers?"

"Yes, Missy."

"Okay, good." She looked into the backseat and contemplated the sleeping boy's visage, which they'd left uncovered so that he could breathe easier, only covering it when they neared a toll booth. "We'll need to blindfold him too, and gag him. It's a long way from the transfer spot to the Marmin's shack. It would be near impossible to safely knock him out for the full ride, and if we did, we'd be delayed when making the ransom demands."

"Is it really considered a ransom when we're not giving him back, Missy?" Alexandro snorted. John looked curious as to the answer.

"Nah. More like forced funding." They all laughed.

"Is my script ready, Missy? I haven't done one of these before, you know."

"I know. It's almost done. I'll have it ready for you to read after the transfer." She pulled out a notebook and got to work writing. There was silence for a while as they drove. When they were passing exit 8, John spoke up again.

"Are you really planning to go all out in pretending to be a guy? It seems a bit extreme."

Missy snorted. "If the kid _somehow_ gets free, I want them to be looking for three guys rather than two guys and a girl. It will be easier for _us_ to escape that way. I just won't talk much this week." John nodded.

"How long will the new sedative last?"

"It should knock a grown, fit man out completely for three to four hours and keep him out of it for another one, so I'd say we probably have seven hours until he comes to." John nodded, deep in thought, and then went back to watching the sleeping kid.

Ten minutes later, the three shifted in anticipation as they pulled off the exit. John covered the boy's face again, and Missy quietly directed Alexandro.

"We're going to have to be relatively fast," she said to John, handing him a box for the clothes. "Untie him and start stripping him." He nodded, and started undoing the knots. She continued, "If you find something small that doesn't have a tracer, let him keep it for his personal item. They always like when the kids have one."

John took the tie and the watch off first, followed shortly by the kid's jacket. He found a small pair of red googles in one of the outer pockets. No tracer, so he put them on the kid's head. He neatly folded the jacket and tie. Before taking the kid's shirt off, he made a slash in the kid's arm, and dropped the blood over the shirt, drawing a skull face in blood using gloves. That would freak Daddy out. The slash elicited a small moan, and he watched, but the kid did not wake. That was a good sedative.

Satisfied, he removed the shirt, stopped the small wound from bleeding with the shirt, and added the shirt to the neatly folded pile in the box. He then moved to the kid's shoes, where he'd found and crushed a tracer earlier. Those and the socks were added to the pile. He was just undoing the kid's belt, feeling a bit weird at doing this, when they pulled into the parking lot. Missy and Alexandro got out to talk to the grunt, while he finished up. As he pulled the kid's pants over his feet, the kid began to wake more noticeably, much closer to consciousness.

He grabbed the ropes, wrapped them firmly around the boy's ankles, and pulled up his mask, before opening the car door. "We need that new sedative," he said, just loud enough for the others to hear. Missy nodded and moved towards the car. She pulled a small bottle and a syringe out of her bag. She filled it almost completely, grabbed the boy's arm, and injected the liquid. He picked up energy for a moment, struggling slightly, although never opening his eyes, and then dropped back into his sleepy drugged state. Missy nodded to him and then turned back to her inspection of the transfer car, more specifically its open trunk.

"There's an independent heater in the back?" She asked the grunt, as John firmly bound the boy's arms behind his back with little give.

"Yessir. It'll keep working even after you turn the car off, although the kid probably won't even notice it's there. Should keep him cozy enough not to get frostbite."

"Good. The back's kind of banged up. Why's that?"

"You'll need a crowbar to open the trunk, so he won't be able to get out on his own. Nobody would expect you to be using a banged up old car to transport your ware. The company thought this was best for day one. Extra security."

"Alright. John, you finished?" She asked, turning back to her companion.

"Almost," he said, finishing up the gag. "Just need to get the blindfold. Would you like the honors?"

Missy snorted, but went over anyways. She took a roll of duct tape and wrapped it tightly around the boy's head, making sure to cover all possible angles of sight. Alexandro took the crowbar from the grunt and checked the trunk to make sure there were no sharp edges the boy could use for his advantage. He flipped the heater on. "Seems ready. Put him in."

John scooped the boy up, and brought him over, arranging the limbs so that he'd be relatively comfortable. He took a deep breath, and then stepped back. Alexandro instantly slammed the trunk closed, banging on it a few times to make sure it really wouldn't open without a crowbar.

They nodded to the grunt and got into the car.

"His stuff's in the backseat," Missy told the grunt before sliding into the driver's seat. She handed her notebook to Alexandro so he could read the script and work on adding elements of creepiness and danger to it in his movements and body language. Then, they took off towards the highway in silence.

Twenty minutes later, Missy said. "It's too quiet," and turned on the country music station.

"Seriously? Country?" John moaned.

"Driver picks the music, Newbie. Driver picks the music."

**Story behind this chapter: Warning, it's a long one.**

**There are few people who I see as completely good or completely evil. I'm a strong believer in the gray area and the idea that just about everyone is inside it. The Dingbats are people doing a horrible task, but it's just that to them: a task. So, I gave each of them motives and roles. For Missy and Alexandro, this isn't their first job, yet this is Alexandro's first time in front of the camera. They don't often set up ransoms as they don't plan to give the kids back. The ransom is mostly to buy time to get down to Savannah (the port where they put Dick on the ship) and to get more funds for "the company" aka the bluemen aka the people experimenting on the kids. There used to be another person with them who did the last few ransoms, but he was arrested on an unrelated charge, so they have John instead. This scene also explains the fact there were five people attacking them in the alley, but only three Dingbats.**

**Here's a rough summary of the Dingbats' background.**

**Dingbat 2 (John) is the newbie. He ran out of money for college after having a falling out with his parents. John got drawn into the wrong crowd and got hired by the company for the job. He's incredibly uneasy and afraid of the consequences. He knows this is wrong, but has no easy way out. Easy over right, basically. Since he's new, the other two don't have him doing the ransom video in case he screws it up. They don't trust him much.**

**Dingbat 1 (Missy) has the most experience and is in charge. She's actually the one who pinpointed Dick as a potential target based on the requirements given to her for the company. She's the strategist, but is smart enough not to get in front of the camera. Missy's not even her real name. I haven't thought of her real name, but I can pull one out of thin air when/if it comes to it. Originally, she joined the company to stick it to her parents, and stayed when she found she enjoyed the thrills of crime. She's a sadist and hasn't failed a job in ten years.**

**Dingbat 3 (Alexandro) is also young like John, but was drawn into the mafia as a kid, so he has a lot of experience. He is only slightly less experienced than mostly acts as transport and grunt. His whole family is in organized crime, which is not that unusual in Gotham. They tend to do their jobs together since they met three-five years ago. He dropped out of high school to work fulltime and because he found it boring. He's NOT a pedophile. He just acts like one in the ransom video to freak Bruce out. Remember, they weren't ever planning to give Dick back, so whatever Bruce did wouldn't really have had an effect on what they did to Dick unless Bruce managed to find him before it was too late (i.e. one week later, already on the ship). At the same time, both he and Missy are major child traffickers, so take that as you will.**

**Why wasn't this in the story?**

**I didn't put too much thought into the Dingbats past their basic personality traits because, when I wrote the scene, I was still planning to keep the entire story in Dick's point of view. Therefore, only what he observed and used to tell them apart, as well as what motivated their basic actions mattered. That and they're quickly shoved to the background, basically unimportant after the first week. Batman will find them at some point, but they're like sand in the cracks, near impossible to catch especially. They left behind no fingerprints, no full visual, and no DNA. Basically, the police and League have nothing useful to find the Dingbats. Thebibliophileshavethephonebooth's review was what prompted me to write this scene and go more in depth into their background.**

**Focus on Logarithm/the rough voice from the dock. _He's_ the important one.**


	3. A Deal with a Demon

**3: Where are the ah Ghul's?**

**This scene fit in right after the tests chapter.**

**Edit: This scene does not exist in the main story line. It's more of a what if than a deleted scene.**

Batman stood impassive on the roof with Robin, Jr. standing close behind him. Both were in defensive stances, ready for a fight if it broke out. He had instantly been suspicious when Ra's al Ghul requested a meeting, and it had taken a few hours of begging from Jason to convince him to bring him along.

Ra's al Ghul stepped out of a helicopter followed by Talia. They also stood in ready stance, as the wind died down from the helicopter.

"Detective, we have come to propose a deal." Ra's began. Batman narrowed his eyes slightly, silently asking 'what deal?' "We have recently lost a rather valuable recruit, and we wish to get him back."

"Who would work for you? Did it occur to you that he wanted to leave? I mean, your organization has a reputation of beating the heck out of its recruits." Robin, Jr. would have continued, but Batman silenced him with a glare.

"Why would we help you find someone that you would then either hurt or kill?" Batman asked.

"We would not kill him," Talia said.

"Our deal, Detective." Ra's said. "We do not believe that our recruit would have left of his own free will. We think he was abducted. If the Justice League would help the League of Assassins to find him, we will help you search for your missing bird. A simple trade, really. You help us find ours and we'll help you find yours."

Batman and Robin, Jr. exchanged glances, considering it. Ra's al Ghul offering help was unusual and would do a lot to aid in the search for Dick, which had gone cold recently.

"I will have to speak will the Justice League, but we're in. Who are we searching for? How do you believe he was abducted?"

"We're looking for a young boy named Damian. He disappeared four months ago in Baghdad. He had a tantrum of sorts with his mother, slipped away into the crowd, and never returned to the hotel."

"Is there a possibility he got lost? How old was he?"

"He knew directions, and has superior genes, so even if he did get lost, he would have eventually found his way back." Ra's replied, ignoring the second question.

"How old?"

"Old enough."

"Fine. Send me the information. I will speak with the Justice League."

Ra's al Ghul nodded. He and Talia returned to the helicopter and left. Robin, Jr. and Batman watched as the helicopter flew away, over the horizon. Then, they returned to patrol. Later, in the Batmobile, Robin, Jr. asked.

"Are you serious about helping Ra's ah nutcase?"

Batman nodded. "If Ra's al Ghul is worried enough about this boy, and having enough trouble finding him on his own then either the boy doesn't want to be found and may join our side, or needs help. We'll help find him, but we'll only give him back if he wants to go back. Ra's has resources we can't access. If he can't find Dick, then, chances are," Batman cut himself off. Robin, Jr. nodded his understanding.

"If he can't find him and we can't find him, chances are no one will find him."

With the League of Shadows

"Father, why did you ask Batman for help? Ah Ghuls never ask for help."

"It keeps Batman off our back as he searches for the circus brat. Plus, he will return Damian if he finds him."

"The boy's useless. Clearly inferior."

"We need his DNA to make another clone. We've exhausted it on the other ones. All of whom were larger failures than Damian."

"Would you actually return the Detective's charity case if you found him?"

"Of course not. But I would return a clone under our control. Cadmus has gotten better at the cloning process since our last attempt with Damian. They would be able to pull it off. Richard would make a good trainee. He is certainly skilled enough. We would only need to be sure to enforce measures to keep him contained."

Talia grumbled. "Yes, Father. I hope Batman find the boy soon. He needs to be punished for his unworthiness."

Ra's did not answer her.

**I wrote the first part of this chapter a while ago, but felt that bringing the League of Shadows in would overcomplicate things. Also, they don't actually care for Damian beyond using him as a lure and heir. So, I took the scene out. They never came back, so you can just assume they gave up the search and started plotting how to make another baby with Batman without Batman's consent. In the comics, Talia makes a bunch of clones of Damian, one of which later kills him. However, none of them work out as well as Damian does. The Damian in my story is the original Damian from the comics. I am also of the opinion that Talia is absolutely nuts and belongs in an asylum, but she's a powerful sort of nuts because she has many people following her. That said, she does seem to sort of like Damian, but she doesn't seem to truly love him. There's a lot that can go behind analyzing Talia ah Ghul.**

**On another note, I've gotten many requests to update _The Medium Between_. The next chapter is the start of the climax, which I've split into three chapters. After that will be one more chapter and an epilogue or just an epilogue, whichever works better. I will not post the chapter until all three are finished because I want them to be the best they can be. I don't want to write something later that needs a lead up in Chapter 26 when Chapter 26 has already been posted. The next chapter is also a bit short currently, and I want to lengthen it. Inky and I don't have the same Spring Break either, so it might be a bit.**

**If you have any specific requests for things you want to happen, little things not big plot points, I'll gladly see if I can add them in. Examples of little things are Damian trips and gets picked up by Dicks and character cameos. Examples of big things are rescue, League finding the kids, etc.**


	4. Teleportation

**TMB If Only 4 Teleportation**

**4: What could be a potential side effect for being used for a portal?**

The sun shined softly on the empty courtyard, burning away what was left of the snow to make way for the few daisies that signaled the beginning of spring. Dead weeds and fallen leaves poked out from the decreasing white layer, decorating the entirety of the courtyard floor, undisturbed. The weeds filled cracks in the pavement and consumed the few plants that existed. Vines crept up the trees, wrapped tight with thorns sticking out to those who would dare touch them. A squirrel chittered in the trees.

A bright red robin flew into the scene and landed on the window sill. He twittered away and shook his head slightly. On the other side of the glass, a pale hand reached out and touched the window, wishing he could touch the free-flying robin. The robin turned its head, studying the boy who faced him.

"Paraishe? Dick? Are you listening?" Dick jerked to attention, wincing as the sudden movement caused his aches from the experiment to tingle. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the bird startle and fly away down into the courtyard.

"Yeah, yeah. Of course I'm listening."

"Oh yeah? Ok. Tell me the last thing I said." Alex smirked at his distant roommate.

"Uhh… You have a longing for olives?" Damian giggled as Alex's smirk slipped off. Dick's cheeks turned bright red. Alex glared at the laughing midget, which of course just made him laugh harder. Eventually, Damian's giggles died down slightly, enough so that he could talk.

" _Cloudy was talking about how the slop needs to have taste if he's to believe it has calories and nutrients."_ He said in a mix of Romani and Arabic

"Ha! I was right! You do have a longing for olives." Alex blushed as Damian's laughter picked up again.

"Well, duh. That's a given, but it's not the last thing I said. Anyhow, Damian probably doesn't even remember what real food tastes like and I doubt you've been making an effort to remember. Damian, what's your favorite food?" Damian shrugged. "See, this is blasphemy! Blasphemy, I say. We need to find your favorite."

Dick tuned the two out as they began an argument about the necessity of having a favorite food. He turned back to the window, looking for the robin he'd seen earlier. It was down near the ground, pecking at the cracks in the pavement. The few patches of ground that weren't snow covered looked wet. Dick imagined they would feel cool beneath his feet, the cold wind pecking at his arms. He closed his eyes, picturing himself down in the courtyard, with the robin.

A few seconds later, Dick could feel the frigid air biting at his skin as if it was really there. The howl of wind blowing loud as the noise of his roommates faded completely. The squirrel sounded close, as if it were right next to him, and the birdsong was louder than before. Something cold dropped onto his head just before his legs gave out beneath him.

Dick pushed himself up slightly, feeling cold, wet, and more cold, and opened his eyes. He froze in shock. He was staring directly at the red robin, who was watching him curiously.

A shrill alarm broke the background, causing the bird to fly away. Dick took in his surroundings. He wasn't in his room anymore. He was outside, in the courtyard. He whipped his head up and located his window. Alex and Damian were staring down at him with wide eyes and partially open mouths. As he watched, other kids in neighboring rooms came to the windows and looked out.

The long neglected courtyard doors crashed open. A large group of bluemen rushed out and surrounded Dick, who was still blinking with confusion, not moving a muscle as he tried to figure out how he got outside. He didn't so much as twitch as the bluemen stalked closer and scooped him up. As he was carried back inside, it occurred to him that he probably should have fought back, stayed in the cold, fresh air for a little while longer.

The door closed with a firm click, followed by the sound of multiple locks moving into place. Dick blinked as he began to come out of his shock. A menacing glare dug into his back. He turned around as best he could with his right hand and ankle chained to the table and chair respectively and met the steady gaze of Frederick. Frederick had his arms crossed and was leaning against the wall, a little to Dick's left, close enough to scare him yet far enough to easily get in his way and grab him should he try to make a move for the door. Not that he would, he would never be able to get around all the locks, which were clearly only on the outside, fast enough to not set off the alarms. Dick's left hand twitched up to touch his googles. He pulled them down around his neck for further protection.

**~~~~**

Ten minutes ticked by on a clock Dick couldn't see, probably a watch. He fidgeted under Frederick's glare and focused on his breathing. Bruce had taught him more than a few breathing exercises to help him calm down from nightmares or whenever he was stressed or panicked. He'd used the exercises many times when he had been kidnapped in the past… and many times in the past three… or was it four? months. They had kept him sane in the never ending isolation of the box, however long he'd been in there. Had the bluemen taken his vitals before shoving him in here? He thought they might have… but maybe not?

After another five minutes, the doctor from the injection room entered followed by a couple bluemen and the doctor from the circle room. The two bluemen each stood on his two sides while the two doctors sat down across from him and studied him. One took his right wrist and took the pulse while the other focused on blood pressure. They jotted down their notes and studied him again, circling like sharks and writing extensively on their clipboards. After a moment of studying Dick and taking notes, the male doctor, the one from the circle room, jerked his head at the bluemen.

Dick felt one of the bluemen grab ahold of his shoulders while the other leaned down and maneuvered his left leg onto the table. Dick cried out in pain at the contortion, but the chair was molded to the ground, so he had no way to escape it or make the pain easier. He grabbed ahold of his ankle to try to ease the bend, but the blueman just shoved his hand out of the way. The man held his foot and shin while the other blueman let go of his shoulders and attached a thick metal anklet with a click. She adjusted the inner band so it was firm around Dick's ankle, but didn't activate it yet.

"How did you do it?" The blueman who had attached the band asked.

Dick shifting uncomfortably, trying to ease the strain on his left leg. He didn't answer. How _did_ he do it? All he could remember was watching the Robin from the window and thinking about how great it would be to fly again. How great it would be to be free to walk his own route and flip through the skies. He missed home. He missed Bruce and Alfred and Jason and his friends and teammates. He missed participating in mathlete tournaments and winning trophies. He missed the relaxation that came with hanging out with Babs and getting into mischief with Wally, to be dug out by Roy or, when they managed to drag Roy down with them, their mentors.

But as much as he missed home, none of that had anything to do with the sudden ability to teleport. Unbidden, a tear dripped down from his eye, followed by another. He really needed to stop it with the break downs. Or at least save them until he was back in his room with only Alex and maybe Damian to see. The bluemen were still watching him for an answer he refused to give, even if he had understood how it happened.

He heard a sigh and then felt a firm pinch around his ankle as the anklet was activated and adjusted to fit just around the inner band. "I suppose we'll just have to figure it out then. For now, you're going to disappear to the basement for a while. You need a punishment for an attempted escape after all." Dick still didn't give her a reaction. He did not resist as they tied a blindfold around his eyes and led him out to parts unknown. There was no point right now. He could benefit from them testing his powers.

Besides, he couldn't leave without Damian.

**Hey everyone! I'll give you the stuff about this scene first and then author's excuses and update on The Medium Between and its sequel.**

**This was a deleted scene that was written partially early in November 2014. I originally stopped partway into the scene with Frederick, one paragraph into that scene. Part of the reason I stopped was because I had no idea where I was going with this. I hadn't thought that far ahead yet, with just the main climaxes in place and some of the beginning scene written already. Obviously, they'd want to know how he did it. There would have to be consequences, one of which would have been the tracker anklet because they would be wary of letting Dick out of their sight and would want to know immediately if he teleported again. It was actually a stronger anklet that would shock him severely so that he'd stay where he was until the bluemen could recover him.**

**This scene created several holes in the plot. Due to the anklet, Dick wouldn't be able to be a part of the escape because he couldn't be far from a blueman and they could easily incapacitate him if he fought back. He also could have just teleported out during the finale scene taking Damian with him. The courtyard wouldn't exactly be much safer, but they'd be more accessible. He could teleport out any kids he found and hand them over to Superman before the bombs went off, which would have been great, but the story would be over and when I was writing this scene, The Medium Between, the story that I posted as The Medium Between, was quickly becoming a sprouting off prequel to a few potential plotlines through use of the portal, still is actually.**

**Giving Dick teleportation also felt like I would be taking away from his character. Bats have a habit of sneaking up on people, intentionally and unintentionally. If he had teleportation, everyone would attribute his asterousness to that, and it just felt wrong. That doesn't mean he won't get superhuman or supernatural powers, but teleportation will not be one of them if/when he does.**

**The nicknames (Paraishe and Cloudy) were another thing that didn't make it through the early stages of this story. They were related to**

**On the other hand, it was fun to write this scene as an exercise in imagery.**

**Inky here! This chapter has been half written for ages and was one of the earlier things that ASV-**

**-just got the update that ASV got bumped to first class -.- (cruelly abandoning Inky to the wild unfettered wastelands)**

… **.Anyways, this was one of the earlier scenes that was discussed between us, and, like she said, got abandoned fairly quickly as the plot developed more. I completed editing this chapter while we were waiting in an airport- as you might figure out from the previous update. We had to deplane our original plane after boarding, b/c it got damaged when they were cleaning out the engine, and then had to travel half a terminal to the new plane, which ofc has an arrival time nearly an hour later than the original flight- which wouldn't normally matter, but this flight was already a redeye.**

**Enjoy this chapter!**

**ASV- I'm sorry I haven't actually personally updated anything since April. I just took one of my finals from Spring semester yesterday that I couldn't take due to my concussion interfering with my ability to study. I couldn't use a computer without pain until mid-June because I had major light sensitivity problems that lasted past everything else healing (think Sunglasses at night in a dark alley with a few dim lanterns, or think a bat), so didn't get much writing done. Completely better now!**

**That said, I have started work on the sequel to The Medium Between, which is currently tentatively called The Wrong Batcave, but that will most likely not be the final title. Several people have pointed out the last chapter of TMB is awkward, so I'm going to write another chapter to resolve it a bit more before the epilogue. The epilogue is written, although I might add a bit more, and came out well. So, that's an update on that. Inky and I have been having fun working on The Wrong Batcave to develop and finalize a clear plot. The smallest things go to whole new outcome, so neither of us are really sure where it will end. Inky and I will be constantly bugging each other with lots of travel time to write for the next two weeks, so I might be able to post the end of The Medium Between in mid-August. There's over 12K words written so far, plus a ton of background work.**

**Also, our flight finally took off after a good two and half hour delay with lots of interesting problems. Interesting for a budding engineer anyways.**


	5. Shower Scene

**5: Shower Scene**

Dick looked around him, fascinated, as he was led down the hallway from his new room. While he'd been allowed out briefly for the tests the day before, he had not really taken the time to observe his surroundings. He was kicking himself now. Tati would be so disappointed… But then, Batman would be disappointed in so many things. He was sure it had been a couple months since his disappearance and Dick was still… here… Wherever here was, Dick supposed he had only been 'here' for about a month or less and had been traveling the rest of the time, but Batman should have been able to pick him up while traveling. He was Batman! He had eyes in the sky! Literally! 

Never mind the fact that Dick had been kept in trunks and the backs of vans with only brief, quick transfers in uninhabited areas, and maybe a warehouse or two. He didn't really know that for sure as he was blindfolded the whole time, but it felt like a good guess. Then the boat ride had lasted forever, and he honestly had trouble remembering clearly the time before or after it. That was all a blur, including the final transfer to the boat. He knew the box was on a boat, but it was so dark… Maybe he was just imagining it? The Earth could swim, right? He probably wasn't doing too well anyways. 

"Hey! Get your head out of the clouds!" The nurse-like-person admonished Dick, giving the teen a fierce shake. Admonished. That was a good word. SAT word. He should remember that one. It might show up. Was there a subtractmonished? Would that be like praised? Oh. When did they stop walking? They were in a tiled room with a hard wooden bench. A few other boys were present with their own personal guard. "Strip!" 

'Excuse me?' Dick thought, giving the man the best scandalized look he could manage. Scandalized. That was another great word. He should make a list. 

"You heard me! Strip!" The command was empathized by a whack to the back of his head. 

Dick flinched and then hesitantly started removing his shirt and pants. He stopped short of his boxers and shivered in the chilly room. 

"All of it." Dick flinched once more at the tone and quickly backed away, shaking his head. Implications flew through his mind. His back hit the wall and he quickly curled up, protecting himself. His breathing sped up. "Oh, for the love of-" 

"Dick!" Alex's voice broke through the cloud of panic that was rapidly descending upon Dick's brain. "Excuse me." He heard Alex say softer. A second later a smaller hand descended on his shoulder. "Dick, mate, relax. It's just a shower. They're not going to do anything but wash you. By that, I mean they'll shove you in the shower stall, dump soap on you, turn the water on and call it a day. If you snap out of it, they might even let you do it yourself." 

A minute later, not really enough time for Dick to really calm down, but enough for him to stop hyper ventilating, the grumbling guard did exactly that. He lifted Dick up, yanking him from Alex's grasp, and threw him in a small shower stall, underwear and all, apparently past the point of caring. Dick scrambled to the feet, but was met by a glob of soap or shampoo or something. The boy whimpered as the man gave him a quick scrub, the quick movements honestly the only thing keeping him upright, and then turned the water on for a couple minutes, washing it all out. With that finished, he was pulled out of the shower and some fresh clothes were shoved onto him before he could find the ability to protest. 

"Well, I sort of warned you." Alex's guilty sounding voice said as Dick was shoved towards the door. Dick blinked the soap out of his eyes in order to find Alex and managed to give him a flimsy glare that probably looked pathetic as he lost sight of the older teenager. That was probably the worst shower he'd ever taken, although did it really count as him taking it if he'd pretty much been forcibly washed? Then again, he was sure the nurses in the Target Dump did bed baths, but he had blocked those out. A shower _felt_ different. 

He was curled up on his bed under a blanket, crisscrossed with his arms crossed across his chest when Alex returned several minutes later. 

Alex gave a light chuckle. "Sorry. I forgot to warn you. We get those every other or every three days. I honestly think it might be Monday, Wednesday, Friday type thing, but haven't been here long enough to know for sure. They don't give us the date or day or anything. It really is guesswork, but that makes the most sense. They'll let you shower yourself or at least give you a bit more time if you don't piss them off." 

Dick just glared. Alex threw his hands up in response. 

"Okay! Got it! Warn his majesty about other things that might seemed creepy! We have lunch with the other kids, normally, too. Did I tell you that?" 

Dick sighed, and relaxed his arms, fiddling with the blanket. Alex relaxed a bit and sank down onto his bed. 

"We have class in a bit. You should get ready." 

**There isn't really a story behind this. I thought of it today. I realized I kind of glossed over hygiene and Dick's mental state (although some signs are there for that) while writing The Medium Between. I might post another chapter later that adds Damian in. He's four, so can't really be treated the same. For one thing, he's too tiny. Anyhow, short tidbit for you guys to enjoy.**


	6. Fear

**6: Fear**

The trunk was dark, dark enough that he couldn't see a thing. The car was moving, he could tell by the sound of gravel under the tires and a slight nausea behind his eyes. With the darkness pressing in like a tangible being, Dick was only able to tell where his younger brother was by feet. He could definitely hear the small boy shaking though, like a leaf waiting to fall off a tree in the Autumn.

"Dami?" He gently pulled the boy into his arms. "You okay?"

"Y-yeah. I'm not scared or anything." Dick chuckled lightly at that.

"Alright, but, you know, there's nothing wrong with being afraid, especially of the dark," he said. He felt Damian snuggle a little closer, hopefully listening. "Fear is a natural reaction. It's a warning. It says 'be wary.' Not feeling fear is not a good thing in any dangerous situation. It can make someone reckless, meaning they go into situations without considering any of the potential consequences. Fear of the dark is in no way an irrational feeling. Everyone, no matter what they claim, is or was afraid of the dark."

"Mother said." Damian started, and then stopped himself. Dick nudged him to go on. "Mother said that fear is a weakness, and, and weakness is not an option."

"I think we've established your mother is wrong about a lot of things, but in many cases, you need to form your own opinion. Fear, being afraid is only a weakness if you let it be. Courage and bravery, as well as strength, does not mean you're not afraid. True strength means accepting your fears and facing them, embracing them. Everyone is afraid of something. It's what you do what those fears that defines you. If you accept your fears, then they're not as scary anymore."

"Everyone has fears? Even Tati?" The slight plea echoed in Dick's ears, and he tightened his hug.

"Even Tati. Believe it or not, Tati used to be terrified of bats."

"Tati was scared of bats?" The disbelief was evident in the younger boy's tone, displacing some of the fear.

"That's right."

"But… Isn't he surrounded by bats?"

"That's what he did with his fear. He embraced the fear and turned it around to scare bad guys and help people. You know what, I'm sure his fear of the dark led to him deciding to go out at night. Well, combined with some other factors.

"So, a fear of the dark is good?" Damian questioned, trying to pick out his brother in the darkness.

"Yeah, so long as you don't let it hold you back." He paused, thinking of something. "Dami, can you repeat after me." He felt a nod. "Alright! Ready? I am afraid."

"I am afraid."

"But that's not going to stop me."

"But that's not going to stop me."

"Good. Now, whenever you get scared of anything, I want you to repeat those words, either out loud or in your head. Then, I want you to face those fears. Show them how brave you are. Do you understand?"

"Uh-huh. Thank you, Dick."

"Of course. I love you, Dami."

"Mmm. I love you, too." Damian mumbled. Dick smiled. There was a few moments of peaceful silence, before the car hit a particular hard bump. Damian gave a squeak of fear as they jarred out of position.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay. You're fine. Umm. Hey, how about I teach you some songs? Songs are good. Music."

**BEHOLD! The ultimate lost scene. This is actually a pretty iconic scene that I lost before I could type it up, and I couldn't remember how I wrote it. I finally found it in my AP Lit notebook today. The conversation takes place around the time of the video where everything kicks into action, on the way to the shed. I know they got out the normal way when they arrived, but they switch cars a couple times on the way, just like they changed cars on the way back. It seems short, but it would have been part of a longer chapter.**

**Fun Character Development. Dick's actually terrified in this scene, but he's controlling it to put on a somewhat strong face for Damian. This conversation is partly him convincing himself, so he won't panic or draw in on himself. Ever since the initial kidnapping, where Dick spent about a month in the dark. One week switching between car trunks and vans blindfolded, and three weeks in a small box on a boat with little to no light coming through the small air holes. The fear was increased when Logarithm threw him in a dark cell for a week after the escape and played mind games with him. The trunk is actually a step up from that because the situation is familiar for him, allowing him to relax somewhat.**

**Please review.**


	7. Alternate Promised Day

**7: What if they focused on getting the "important" kids in the basement out instead of killing them?**

Dick was forcing his sluggish body to do the allotted jumping jacks under the watchful eye of a blueman when the alarm went off, startling Dick and causing him to topple. Damian, who was sitting on the bed kicking his feet back and forth, jumped as well, and started searching the room for the source of the noise. Dick's head spun, but he forced himself to get to his feet because it wasn't worth getting punished for. To his surprise, the blueman completely ignored him, instead focusing on her earpiece.

About thirty seconds later, the blueman barked, "Stop!"

Dick did so, studying her warily.

"Stand. Wrists out in front of you. Don't speak." There was an implied 'or you'll regret it' in those words. The woman went to a cupboard hidden in the wall to the side of the back end of the bed and pulled out two small sets of adjustable manacles, two collars, and four pieces of cloth, as well as a long rope, putting each item on the bed as she tugged it out.

She secured Dick first, manacles around his wrists, collar around his neck, gagged and blindfolded, before going to Damian and doing the same. Damian's whimper was quickly silence when she tied him up. Then she dumped the small boy into his brother's arms. Dick quickly adjusted the best he could to securely hold Damian. The long rope was tied around them to secure the two together and then tied off as a lead. She led the two stumbling out into the hallway. Dick gave up trying to keep track of where they were going as he focused on not dropping the kid. After a few minutes of walking, the alarm shut off, but they kept going through the maze.

Finally, they seemed to reach at least near the destination, as they slowed, Dick bumping gently into the blueman. The lead was tucked into the part tying the two together. "Who you got there?" A new voice asked.

"169 and 214. Project PUM and related."

"Hmmmmm. Ah. There they are. Send 'em through."

Dick gave a silent yelp as strong arms, not ones that could belong to the blueman who had been leading them, yanked him and Damian off the ground and stuffed them into a chute of sorts. Damian tried to disappear into Dick's chest trembling as they shot down the slide, anklets buzzing madly and painfully. Within seconds they were plummeting into a hamper, which closed upon receiving their weight. The hamper dropped into a box with a painful thud. He felt hands give him a hard shove downwards and then a lid was slammed on top of the box. There was a soft beep and Dick felt as the box moved.

"Clear!" A voice said as the box came to a halt. Every few minutes or so, the last few steps were repeated and soon Dick felt the box lift from whatever it was on and get placed on a solid platform of sorts and shoved backwards. He shifted so that the two boys were minutely more comfortable, even as Damian continued to tremble on his chest. Dick tried to calm his beating heart as he squirmed around, but all he could remember was the ship. Damian was the only thing keeping him from a full blown panic attack. Several minutes later, he heard something shift into place on top of their box.

Before he knew it, there was the sound of doors slamming shut and then silence for precisely thirty seconds. Then, footsteps moved past and there was a rumbling as whatever they were in, a truck, Dick thought logically, started up. Then, they were moving, and Dick found himself focusing on his breathing.

At least a half hour passed before Dick heard the sound of metal sliding open and shut. A few minutes later. Something right by his ear opened, and he felt as the hamper was loosened and then yanked down from around his and Damian's head.

"Hey! We got two in this one!"

"That'll be 169 and 214. They're a… package deal."

"Eh… If you say so." The gag was pulled out. "Don't bother trying to speak kiddie. Collar's got that covered." The metal slammed shut. Dick blew gently into Damian's hair, and the toddler responded by loosening his grip a bit.

Another half an hour passed with the bluemen talking to each other, and then he heard the doors open and the sound of heavy boxes being moved. The ones on top moved first, loudly, violently, and then his and Damian's was moved, to another truck he assumed as they didn't drop in height, in fact rising to slid on top of another row of boxes if his guess was correct.

They were in this truck for longer this time, but were eventually transferred again, bruises galore. Dick had taken to playing with Damian after carefully untangling the child. The two played chopsticks and the poking game. Dick hoped he was making the kid smile at least. He held him as close as he could to prevent injuries as they were jarred in transfer.

"You get one bottle each, with no lid." A blueman stated an hour into the third truck ride, waking Dick from a fitful nap. He wondered what the blueman meant until he felt some liquid slosh onto him as a bottle was shoved through the opening into Dick's manacled hands.

"You two get one only. One per package." He heard a voice sneer. He ignored it, and carefully maneuvered the bottle to Damian's mouth to sip. They took turns drinking until the liquid ran low. Just as Dick was attempting to tip the bottle enough to get the last drops, the driver slammed on the breaks. He barely managed to get his arms around Damian for protection before the boxes all shifted and tumbled.

"Dude! What the hell?" A voice yelled, sliding a metal sheet that most likely separated the driver from the back.

"It's the Batman! It's the ruddy Batman!" The driver cried. Dick felt a smirk creep onto his face as that sunk in. Damian perked up.

"Well, don't just sit there! We've got a shipment to deliver! Shoot him!" Dick felt the smirk disappear immediately as gunfire sounded. Damian buried his face into Dick.

"Oh shit! He brought Superman! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shiiiiittttt!" Both boys breathed a sigh of relief. "Listen, man, we're just the delivery crew. Can we maybe not go about a fight? Just take it. Take it all!"

"Don't give up! Dude!" The bluemen all moved. "Prepare to fire!" There was a creak as the doors were manipulated. "Fire!" Gunfire ran out, ricocheting off Superman. Dick crouched into a ball around Damian cringing. He heard as Superman disarmed the men and several of them ran screaming for their mommies. And blocked out the rest of what was going on. The gunfire died down and the dust settled.

"There are kids in all the boxes." Superman said. Batman probably nodded. He raised his voice. "Don't worry! We're going to get you all out!" There was a beep as the collars deactivated.

It felt like ages passed before they got to his and Damian's box. Dick whispered words of comfort to Damian and, between the two of them, they managed to get both blindfolds off. Dick twisted his up and tried to use it as a lockpick on Damian's wrists, but it didn't really work. Dick heard more heroes helping than just Superman and Batman and was proven in this when their box was opened and Rocket was looking down at them. She showed no immediate recognition as she helped the two boys out, although there was a flicker of surprise at seeing two instead of one. She passed them to Superboy, who wasn't really paying attention as he broke the manacles and collar off, bending down to get the anklets as well. Dick put Damian down, and wrapped his arms around the teenager as they stood back up.

"Ro-Richard?" Conner asked. Dick pulled back and smiled at him.

"Hey," he coughed to clear his throat. "Hey, Conner." He said softly. Superboy smiled and jerked his thumb to Batman.

"You have the choice of your dad or Agent A. Agent A is on the plane."

"Thanks." Dick picked up Damian, dallied for a second, and then limped his way towards the plane. He wanted his reunion with Bruce to be private so that he didn't have to worry about identities, but Alfred was probably already partially hidden, so he could do that.

He climbed aboard and wove into the cockpit, careful to be sure no one was watching as he slipped in. He jerked back a bit when he realized Jason was there as well in a ridiculous outfit. Somehow, neither Jason nor Alfred had noticed them. He and Damian exchanged looks with a hidden plan. Then Dick dropped Damian on top of Jason and glomped Alfred as Damian squirmed to hug Jason.

"Wha-?" Jason spluttered, staring down at the little blob of toddler.

"Hi!" Dick said, releasing Alfred long enough to loop around for a proper hug.

"Dick!" Jason stood up, Damian hanging on around his neck. "Oh, kid? Uh… Dick! Hug me you as-jerk!"

"As-jerk?" Damian asked. Dick released Alfred and pulled Jason into a hug, Damian squashed in the middle.

"I missed you." Dick muttered to Jason.

"I missed you, too, Dickhead." Jason pulled back, but kept a hand on his brother's arm to keep track of his realness. Damian had snuck back over to his eldest brother. "Sit down. You look like you're about to fall over. Who's the kid?"

"This is Damian. Damian Wayne. Bruce and Talia's son and our little brother."

"Sounds like quite the story." Jason said eagerly.

"A story that will need to wait until Master Batman comes back, I'm afraid. No need to tell it twice. Why don't you fill Master Richard and Master Damian in on what he's missed while you're waiting?" Alfred interjected with a smile. "I do believe these belong to you." He said with a straight face, handing over a small tin of chocolate chip cookies. Dick's face lit up as he opened it.

"Cookie!" Damian said, reaching for one. Dick gave him one and handed another to Jason as they settled in to wait.

"And that's when they called us, to pick everyone up and take you guys to the embassy. You'll have to get a medical check, of course, but then Bruce will be able to pick you up officially and take you home. We've been saying he's been working closely with us, so he'll come as soon as B can slip away and get him. We'll figure something out for Damian's passport, I assume. They're most likely going to forewarn the airports about kids coming through with missing passports to go home, so we shouldn't run into trouble. Just lots of questions."

Dick nodded, sipping at a water bottle. Alfred had slipped out to hand water bottles to the rest of the kids, helping them open them if needed. Damian was curled up on his lap like a puppy, fast asleep. They looked up as the door to the cockpit opened. Alfred reentered.

"Everyone is aboard," he informed the two awake boys. Dick perked up, looking for Batman. "Master Batman will be here in a moment. He is double checking that everyone is secure, with their _seatbelts_ on." They took the hint. Dick carefully maneuvered Damian into a sitting position so that he wouldn't slip before clicking the four part seatbelt around them. The child gave a soft murmur before falling back to sleep.

When Batman shuffled in, downcast with a firm scowl on his face from not finding his son, Dick couldn't help himself in commenting.

"Well, I thought you'd be happy to see me, but I can-" Bruce cut him off with a firm hug. "That's better." Dick muttered, tears starting anew as he hugged back just as firmly.

Damian woke from getting squished. He pushed against Batman's chest, and then blinked when he realized what he was pushing. He peeked up at his father, the crying bat who was busy hugging his previously missing eldest. "Hi." He said. Batman pulled back and looked down, his cowl masking a blink of surprise. "I'm Damian. Mother told me you were my father and Dick said that you're definitely not a vampire even though you kinda dress up as one."

Jason broke into laughter, quickly followed by Dick as Damian blushed.

"What?"

Even Bruce gave a small chuckle as he welcomed the newest addition to the family.

**Story Behind This Chapter: The Bluemen should have been working on a plan to get the kids out ever since the Escape over a month before the climax. This chapter takes into account if they had a better plan and focused on getting the kids who were most successful in their experiments or who they felt could be extremely successful out and away before the League could catch them. It's a bit weird, really. But you get the reunion everyone wanted. I might write a follow-up chapter to this one, but for now I hope you liked it.**

**For background, the Bluemen managed to get a good three hours away, possibly more before the League even realized they had left. It was only by the anklet signal that Jason isolated that they were able to find them again. In other words, the League almost had to go back to the drawing board. Only one oversight saved the truck of kids. If you want, think if there was another truck that didn't have a kid with an anklet in it...**


	8. Artemis Taken Too 1

**TMB If Only 8 What if Artemis was captured too?**

The first thing Dick registered when he woke up was that he was not under a blanket. The next thing he registered was that Peanut was missing. The third, and most important, thing that he noticed was that he was not alone. He froze, clamping down on a groan and trying his hardest not to move to alert the person smashed up against him. It felt like a person anyways. A fully formed, taller than him person with… A skirt? Oh god. He was with a girl. Oh god, Wally was going to kill him! He managed to get Artemis kidnapped with him. He'd never live it down!

A muffled squeak escaped from his mouth as he felt Artemis move, and he fought to keep still in order to not touch anything that could make Wally kill him more. Well, actually, Wally would probably understand. Artemis, though, Artemis was scary when angry. He really didn't want an arrow through his foot. At least she had clothes on! Although, now that he thought about it, he felt kind of cold. Oh. Dick didn't have clothes on besides his boxers, but Artemis did? No fair!

Well, it was better that she had clothes on if one of them had clothes on being a girl and all. Then again, Dick's clothes were packed with tracers and Artie's probably weren't. That was probably why he was practically naked. Actually, he didn't really feel comfortable being practically naked next to any girl, especially his best pal's girlfriend. Hell, Zatanna and he hadn't gotten past short kisses and small dates yet. She was going to kill him too. He'd get killed twice!

Yay, Artemis was awake. Oh! And they were blindfolded. Fan-freaking-tastic! If Arty got hers off and got a good look at him, she'd probably figure out his secret ID. Well, it was about time she knew, but he would never live this down. He felt a hard shove and a muffled grumble. He should probably get traught. He took a few minutes to breathe in and out and calm down. Artemis settled down next to him. SHE probably didn't panic… He could always punch back with the Reds if it came to it.

Dick decided to ignore, for now, his teammate and best friend's girlfriend who totally only knew him currently as that annoying Freshman Math Tutor. He moved to assess his other body parts. His wrists were bound firmly behind his back with little give, and currently pressed up against Artemis. He quickly switched sides, but having his face there wasn't much better, so he switched back. The rope was itchy, and hurt when he moved his wrists, so he let it be for the moment. Further investigation revealed that his ankles were tied with the same rope, albeit less firmly. He moved to lick his lips and found similar rope blocking his mouth. Communication with Artemis would be nice. He should get the gag out.

He squirmed around, accidentally kicking and hitting Artemis as he maneuvered his hands over his legs and in front of him, ignoring the muffled protests. The car hit a bump as he was pulling them under his knees and he screamed at the strain. The car passed over several more bumps and then slowed to a stop. After a few tense moments waiting for the trunk to open, it became clear they weren't coming for them right now. Dick finished pulling his hands around, wincing the whole time and reached up to untangle the gag. It was tight, but he managed it eventually after moving it around to get the knot to the front. Artemis continued to protest as he tugged the blindfold off.

"Calm down." He muttered. "I'll get yours in a minute." Artemis gave a sound that sounded suspiciously like 'Robin,' but Dick ignored it. He got his blindfold most of the way off, blinked a few times to clear his vision, and then reached over to Artemis to untie her gag and then blindfold. He forced himself to ignore the copious amount of saliva his hands were gaining as he worked, at least until the gag was off and he could wipe it on her shirt.

"Robin, what is going on?" She hissed.

"Well, to start, you're not talking to Robin," Dick replied as he started on her blindfold. "Dick Grayson, at your service." Artemis didn't reply. "I'd ask how you know Robin, but I honestly don't care at this moment and I don't think it's the best conversation to have when we've clearly been kidnapped, capische?" He got more of her blindfold off than his as it wasn't around his own head, but it was still hard to see anything in the dark trunk.

"I have a boyfriend." She said when he accidentally kneed her in the stomach after hitting his head on the trunk roof.

"Charming. He can kill me for getting his girlfriend kidnapped later. We need a plan."

"Right. A plan."

"No need to sound so discouraged." Dick said cheerfully. "I've been kidnapped like 40 times and always made it home. There's probably a bunch of stories online about it."

"So, this is _normal_ for you."

"So normal my friend bet me I couldn't make it three months without getting kidnapped… Almost made it, too." He muttered the last bit.

"My god, and they let you leave the house?"

"Wow," he fake laughed. "That… That actually really hurts. Ouch."

Silence. He could imagine the look on her face.

"Look, just help me get the rest of the ropes off and we can find a way out of this trunk."

Unfortunately, it turned out there was no way to open the trunk from the inside. They tried. The button to open from the inside was destroyed and the actual trunk roof warped. There were blankets and padding that they hadn't noticed at first all around the trunk. It heavily muffled the impact as Artemis tried to kick their way out. All that came from that was that Dick was kneed in the face. They managed to get all the ropes off, so decided to take shifts sleeping until the trunk was opened by their kidnappers for whatever reason. Then, they would both fight back and try to escape.

Unfortunately, Artemis really didn't have any tracers, and neither of them had shoes, so resistance would be difficult. Dick was glad he was with someone who could fight back because he was still feeling seriously drugged and Robin definitely could not show himself right now.

"Hey, where did you get those?" Artemis asked after waking him up for her turn sleeping.

"Get what?" Dick asked sleepily.

"Those goggles. On your head."

"Huh?" Dick reached up and felt Wally's goggles on his head. "Oh. A friend gave them to me. The one I made the bet with."

"I… see."

"If you say so. Go to sleep. I'll wake you in a few…" At that point, he heard footsteps returning. "They're coming back!" The two teens tensed up. "Artemis, we should probably switch places. I imagine you're a better fighter than me?"

"Right. Right." The two quickly and awkwardly switched places. Unfortunately, the footsteps continued right past the trunk and they heard the car doors open and close. The car turned on and moved back over the speed bumps and away.

"Great." Dick muttered. "So much for that."

"Grayson, are you naked?" Artemis asked suddenly.

"No. They left my boxers. Did you seriously just figure that out?" Artemis chose not to answer. "Seriously? And you think I'm the perverted one here."

"Where'd you get that impression?"

"One of the first things you said to me after I got your gag off was that you had a boyfriend." After a few more minutes of silence, Dick spoke up. "Maybe we should get back to shifts. Neither of us will be much good exhausted."

"Fine. It's my turn."

"I thought there were more of them." Dick stated hopping from foot to foot as he looked around at the groaning group of thugs Artemis had taken her pent up aggression out on. She was in the middle of tying up the last thug.

"There were. I think they ditched a couple. I only heard three people talking anyways."

Dick nodded, and then jerked a thumb at the car. "Can you drive?"

"Yeah. Not well, but I can us to the main road and hopefully to someone who can help. Here." She picked up a coat she had torn off one of their aggressors and tossed it to Dick. "You look freezing."

"I am freezing. Hey! You! What did you do with my coat?" The thug spat at him. Dick sighed and pulled the coat Artemis had tossed him on, scowling as it went down to his knees. He searched the pockets and pulled out a set of keys. "Artemis, keys." He tossed them to the blonde. She caught them and opened up the car, searching for their shoes and Dick's clothes. She made a triumphant sound as she picked up a heavy box.

"Found your coat, Grayson!"

"Yay! Thanks, Artie!" He hurried over and started pulling out clothes and slipping them on, starting with his pants. "Aww. They got my shirt bloody. Wait, I was hurt?" He looked down to his right arm, where there was a sizeable cut. "That's probably going to get infected."

"Get in. We'll call for help from the road. No service here."

"Sounds good."

"I've got all their wallets."

"Also, good. They can pay for lunch."

"Pfft. Really?"

"Hey, they wanted our company. They can afford to feed us. Should I sit in the back? It's safer back there, you know."

"Shut up Grayson and get in the passenger seat."

"Whatever works."

They called Batman from the road. Batman, not Bruce Wayne. Dick had a hard time not laughing as they did. Batman sounded quite nervous about Artemis driving back from wherever they were, which turned out to be somewhere in Southern West Virginia hidden in the mountains. Dick was the only one who could tell, but it was still funny. It was decided they would drive to Washington,DC, which, while still not nearby, was a lot closer than Metropolis or Gotham.

To Dick's surprise, Bruce decided to end the call with "Oh, and Artemis?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't lose my son. He has a bad habit of getting snatched."

"Excuse me!?" Dick interjected. "Whose fault is that? I don't ask to get kidnapped!" Bruce hung up. "Jerk."

"Grayson."

"Yes, Artemis?"

"You're a little troll and I fully intend to use you as target practice next time we go to the mountain."

"You won't be able to catch me. Roy's tried."

"Want to bet?"

"Let's get home first."

**A/N**

**Study Break**

**This is one possibility on what would have happened if Artemis was taken along with Dick. I have a couple other ideas of what could have happened, and may write them later.**

**Story Behind this chapter: This was written following a suggestion from Dratias in a PM back in October. I haven't posted it until now because I had another chapter ready before this one, and then I started posting TWB, so it got put on the back burner.**

**I think if Artemis had been there with Dick, they would have escaped if for the sole fact that it's much easier to take ropes off another person than yourself. And another person also even the odds more. I don't know why Bruce clued her in, but I think he was going partially for the idea that she'd be less likely to ditch Robin on the side of the road than Dick Grayson because Batman is scarier than Bruce Wayne.**

**Anyways, good luck on finals and such everyone.**


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